Goverbir Gina Raimondo joined state and local officials today for a ribbon cutting at Finlays’ new state-of-the-art global research and development center at Quonset Business Park. Finlays is a global leader in the development and distribution of tea and coffee extracts. The new facility at Quonset includes 28,800 square-feet of R&D and manufacturing space. It will allow Finlays to explore future ingredient innovations for the growing natural beverage segment.
“This is another sign that Rhode Island is creating high-paying jobs for our citizens and that our economy has momentum,” said Gov. Raimondo in a prepared statement. “We welcome Finlay’s to Quonset, which continues to be one of Rhode Island’s leading centers of job creation and economic growth.”
In following phases, Finlays has committed to hiring additional employees by 2019 and pledged to maintain these new jobs in the state for a minimum of 12 years. The new jobs will make Finlays eligible to receive $1.4 million in Qualified Jobs Incentive Tax Credits for the development of both phases of the project, as well as Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credits totaling $572,000.
“We are very pleased to celebrate the opening of this new advanced manufacturing facility,” said Stefan Pryor, Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce and chair of the Quonset Development Corporation Board of Directors in a prepared statement. “Finlay is a global food and beverage company with options to expand elsewhere, but they chose to plant their flag in Rhode Island thanks in part to Governor Raimondo’s economic development toolkit and the resources at the Quonset Business Park. We congratulate the Finlay team on this new research and development center and we look forward to their success.”
“Finlays significant investment here in Rhode Island will allow us to stay on the cutting edge of delivering innovative ideas and products to market. It positions us as a global strategic partner and enables us to expand here even further,” stated Steve Olyha, CEO of Finlay USA in a prepared statement.
Future plans for Finlays at the Business Park include an additional manufacturing facility with over 65,000 square feet of space.
“Finlays’ new facility is a welcome addition to the Park and we look forward to watching their continued innovation and growth,” said Steven J. King, the Managing Director of the Quonset Development Corporation in a prepared statement.
Finlays joins more than 200 companies at Quonset Business Park. The company will also continue operations at both their Lincoln, RI and Florham Park, NJ locations.